Sex, Drugs & Democracy

Rating:
Summary: A MUST SEE
Review: I can't tell you how badly I wanted to move to Holland after watching this gem!
I've bought 7 copies to give as presents in the past year.
You really wonder if the USA is the "land of the free".
(Holland looks better every day!)

Well made, informal, great editing....love it!

Reefer Madness is one of the cleanest transfers I've seen on DVD.

Hemp for Victory has to be seen to believed. This classic propaganda short begs farmers to start growing dope!
Our navy needed rope for all of the new ships.
Soundtrack bonus CD is tops!

Rating:
Summary: true love: being wrapped in a warm blanket
Review: I felt a pull to go to the video store, and this is the video that called me there.

It is a warm and fuzzy video about true (brotherly) love. It shows how the wisdom that was started out of America made its way only to the Netherlands. Out of the whole, ENTIRE world, perhaps the Netherlands is the only place where the Dalai Lama wouldn't mind living.

I almost cried while watching. The prostitutes are cared for and treated like human beings. Women are taught how to box, and their championship boxer (female) says, "I always box with men. They're pretty good." :-D

--But the most touching thing I saw in it was that people (the govt.) actually drive around, handing out clean needles to addicts. --Wow! What love! I have never heard of such a mature society before!

As the Dutch say repeatedly in the movie, "If you ignore the problem, it's only going to get worse. These people are going to die."

Kishan

Rating:
Summary: Sex Drugs, & Democracy -or- Why am I still here?
Review: I first saw Sex Drugs and Democracy 6 years ago, in Canada, upon it's initial release. When it was over I wondered how quickly I could get from the movie theatre to the airport. Six years later, after watching the film for the second time, my wife and I wondered how quickly we could get to the airport from our bedroom. This is a movie about FREEDOM. This is a movie about FREEDOM and CIVILIZATION and RESPONSIBILITY and FEARLESSNESS. And WISDOM. It is wisdom born out of a common sense notion about what human beings need to reach their individual and communal potential, as well as a refreshing trust in their ability to acheive that potential without creating chaos. In the USA we give freedom lip service. In Holland Freedom is a solid thing to be touched by all. This movie is REVOLUTIONARY. After watching it you'll know why Blockbuster doesn't carry it. And, after you have watched it, been turned on by it, you too will ask: Why am I still here?

Rating:
Summary: Enlightening!!!
Review: It is extremely difficult to review a video(especially one such as this) in merely a few words. On the surface this a documentary that unfolds the social and political structures that make Holland what it is from both a fundamental historical perspective and a modern day to day perspective as told through interviews with every kind of person you can imagine. As far as what I got out of this video...All I can really say is that I found this documentary to be enlightening in the fullest sense of the word. The video watches like a 'how to succeed in running your country' manual...and watching this video will convince you that the Dutch have it down pat! I believe that everyone would like to change (fix?) the world and this video serves to add fuel to that fire within. Anyone with the slightest interest in how society, the world and people just getting along works should watch this...you will be pleasantly enthralled and in the process discover that there is hope for the world yet!

Rating:
Summary: An uncensored look at the freest place on earth.
Review: SEX, DRUGS & DEMOCRACY is a critically acclaimed, award-winning indie-cult film about freedom in Holland that grossed over $1 million theatrically. While it may be regarded as the world's most liberal country, Holland has low rates of drug use, addiction, and AIDS as well as the lowest rates of teen pregnancy, abortion and imprisonment in the world. SEX, DRUGS & DEMOCRACY was described by Roger Ebert as "enthralling...a seductive argument," "required viewing" by Alan Dershowitz, "a provocative argument for fighting social taboos by making them legal" by Playboy's Bruce Williamson, and "an intriguing and uncensored tour" by The Washington Post's Rita Kempley. END

Rating:
Summary: A different world
Review: This documentary offers a vivid portrait of the Netherlands' permissive social landscape. Interviewing prostitutes, judges, political leaders, coffeehouse owners, and regular Dutch citizens, filmmaker Jonathan Blank makes the case that decriminalizing "soft" drugs and prostitution can advance the public good by freeing government to spend more time on education, prevention, and public health efforts. Blank ties the film together by presenting excerpts from the Dutch constitution, which frames individual liberties very differently than does the U.S. Constitution. These excerpts make clear why the Dutch government does not have the authority to legislate morality. The only flaw in the documentary is that it cheerleads for its political message and fails to document any negatives to the Dutch social arrangement. It must also be said that this documentary is not for the close-minded or easily offended; be prepared for graphic nudity during the section on pornography and live sex shows.

The bonus features on the DVD are excellent. Far more amusing than the actual documentary is the black and white film "Reefer Madness," an unintentionally hilarious cautionary tale about how marijuana is sure to transform good citizens into maniacal, murderous thugs. There's also "Hemp for Victory," a short produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture during World War II to convince farmers that it was their patriotic duty to convert a portion of their land to hemp production. These two features alone are worth the price of the DVD.

Rating:
Summary: A different world
Review: This documentary offers a vivid portrait of the Netherlands' permissive social landscape. Interviewing prostitutes, judges, political leaders, coffeehouse owners, and regular Dutch citizens, filmmaker Jonathan Blank makes the case that decriminalizing "soft" drugs and prostitution can advance the public good by freeing government to spend more time on education, prevention, and public health efforts. Blank ties the film together by presenting excerpts from the Dutch constitution, which frames individual liberties very differently than does the U.S. Constitution. These excerpts make clear why the Dutch government does not have the authority to legislate morality. The only flaw in the documentary is that it cheerleads for its political message and fails to document any negatives to the Dutch social arrangement. It must also be said that this documentary is not for the close-minded or easily offended; be prepared for graphic nudity during the section on pornography and live sex shows.

The bonus features on the DVD are excellent. Far more amusing than the actual documentary is the black and white film "Reefer Madness," an unintentionally hilarious cautionary tale about how marijuana is sure to transform good citizens into maniacal, murderous thugs. There's also "Hemp for Victory," a short produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture during World War II to convince farmers that it was their patriotic duty to convert a portion of their land to hemp production. These two features alone are worth the price of the DVD.